Four Video Doorbells to Protect From Package Theft

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for a porch pirate.

By Sydny Shepard

Dec 07, 2017

In the weeks following the biggest shopping weekend of the year (Black Friday through Cyber Monday) porches of homes around the country are being visited by mailmen dropping off packages. While online shopping brings convenience to holiday shopping it also brings the stress of package theft.

There are many ways to avoid package theft, like scheduling deliveries for when you know someone will be home or asking your delivery person to hide the packages in a specific spot, but sometimes you just can’t have control over what happens when you finally get your package.

My solution for you is to invest in a video doorbell. These motion activated, two-way communication devices allow you to see who is at your front door from the comfort of your smartphone screen. If a suspicious porch pirate is around, you’d be able to talk to them and nab video evidence of the culprit.

This video went viral in Dwight's neighborhood after his Ring Doorbell caught a stranger boldly walking off with his package.

Here’s the top five video doorbell’s I’d recommend to protect your porch this holiday season and all year round.

Ring Video Doorbell

Ring is one of the most known video doorbell devices. The product comes with two-way audio, motion sensing, live/cloud storage for video, night vision and color options. Ring allows you to customize your motion sensors, so you’ll always be the first to know when you have a visitor. The infrared night vision and weather-resistant design gives users the ability to monitor their home day or night, rain or shine.

SkyBell HD Wi-Fi Enabled Video Doorbell

The SkyBell Video Doorbell gives users a ton of options, you can watch live video, anytime, and take a snapshot if you want. While the SkyBell doesn’t have cloud storage, you can download videos from the device itself. The smart doorbell comes with motion sensing, two-way audio and night vision. It can be hardwired to your home so there is no need for a battery.

August Doorbell Cam

The August Doorbell Cam offers motion sensing alerts, video recording options, and On-Demand viewing as well as the option to connect it to the August Smart Lock, so you can lock and unlock your door depending on who’s knocking. According to reviews, this smart doorbell is a little more difficult to install as it requires mounting brackets and a drill, but they seem to think it is worth the effort for the amount of security it adds to the user’s home.

Zmodo Greet

The Zmodo Greet is one of the cheapest smart doorbell on our list at only $150, but that doesn’t mean it is lacking any features. The Greet comes with self/cloud storage, call alerts, motion detection and night vision. When motion is detected, the user receives a notification through the app. From there, the user can decide to watch live video, record footage, or upload video to the cloud for later use.